The facility at 2000 Wernle Road in Richmond opened a new unit for girls this week. That means 15 to 20 new jobs, said Darrell Gordon, the center's chief executive officer.

Admissions to the unit, which can house 15 girls, begin next week.

"We anticipate it filling up fairly quickly," Gordon said.

It has been more than 10 years since Wernle last had girls residing on campus. The new unit is self-contained with recreational areas and common rooms, and is several hundred feet from the nearest boys unit.

The building originally was planned as a youth detention center set to open in February of last year.

"That never happened," Gordon said. "In a way, it's good news" because it reflected a statewide pattern of fewer young people being put in detention.

Instead, the building was made into the unit for girls.

It's an advantage for Wernle to be able to take girls, Gordon said. Often, the state needs to place brothers and sisters at the same time. The preference is to send siblings to the same facility when possible for the convenience of families and therapists.

In addition to the new unit, the center has been making other changes to improve its service.

"We want to get better," Gordon said. "We realized we need to add more people ... to really help address that difficult child."

Wernle will have a jobs fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the administration building. Full-time positions with benefits are available for registered and licensed practical nurses, therapists, program managers and therapeutic behavior specialists. Therapeutic behavior specialists need to have a high school diploma or GED for their direct-care work with residents.

About 120 people work at the center. Gordon expects that number to rise to 150 by the end of the year.

"I think that's huge for the community," he said. "I've never seen us grow as much as we have in the last year or two."

Heisman Trophy winner and former Oakland Raider Tim Brown is coming to Richmond on Sept. 25. Brown will be featured speaker at Wernle's Catalyst for Change event at Forest Hills Country Club. Reservation information coming soon.